While the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bearsawait word from the NFL on possible fines or even suspensions stemming from Sunday's on-field brawl, Ndamukong Suh finds himself in familiar territory.
The Lions defensive tackle once again is defending himself from accusations of dirty play. And, this time around, he's even shielding his quarterback from the same.
The game in question got heated in the fourth quarter after Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw one of his four interceptions, this one to cornerback Tim Jennings. While D.J. Moore blocked Stafford on the return, the Lions quarterback appeared to grab the Bears defensive back's facemask and flung him to the ground. Moore responded by taking a run and throwing a block hard into Stafford in front of the Lions' bench.
Suh addressed the backlash during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN's "First Take,", saying the Lions aren't a dirty team and Stafford simply was protecting himself.
"That's funny. I can really only just laugh at that," Suh said about the Bears' reaction to the Lions. "But to each their own. That's their choice to do what they want to do. But I know we're going to continue to protect our quarterback, and had to protect himself, that's why he felt the need to get that player off of his body and protect himself. He came back after him and took it to a different level."
Players from both teams came onto the field during the melee, and Moore was ejected. Bears coach Lovie Smith said Monday that both players, Moore and Stafford, should have been ejected.
The accusations are nothing new for Suh, who has defended himself on numerous occasions over two seasons for plays that many view as over the line. The latest came Sunday, when Suh hit Jay Cutler and ripped off the Bears quarterback's helmet in the process.
But Suh said the Lions aren't going to change.
"I like to punish quarterbacks, I like to punish running backs for them trying to make plays on my defense and my other teammates," Suh said during the ESPN interview. "If they want to look at it -- whether it's dirty, aggressive or whatever it may be -- we're going to continue to play that well and make sure that we stand up and not allow teams to run over us and pass over us."
Suh recently met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about how the league perceives his play, a meeting he said gave him "a better understanding" moving forward. Suh has maintained in the past that no part of his game is based on intimidation, and he downplayed a suggestion Tuesday that occasional borderline play helps the Lions build a tough image.
"I don't think anything is borderline. It is or it's not," Suh said. "You either consider it dirty or you don't consider it dirty. I don't think there's any in between ... it's one or the other."
